After-Dialovers Edition
by xftg123
Summary: Kou Mukami is an 18-year old college student with good grades, as well as a sweet boyfriend. That is, until he meets Reiji, with glasses and a classy rebel attitude, that shatters his plans.
1. Introduction

First of all, the story originally belongs to Imaginator1D on Wattpad, this is my own revisation of the story, except with Kou X Reiji! So, without further ado, enjoy! 


	2. Prologue

College had always seemed so crucial, such an essential part of what measures a person's worth and determines their future. We live in a time where people ask which school you went to before asking your last name. From an early age I was taught, trained really, to prepare for my education. It had become this necessity that required an overwhelming amount of preparation and borderline obsession. Every class I chose, every assignment I completed since my first day of high school revolved around getting into college. And not just any college—my mother had it set in her mind that I attend Washington Central University, the same school that she attended, but never completed.

I had no idea that there would be so much more to college than academics. I had no idea that choosing which electives to take during my first semester would seem, just a few months later, like trivial affairs. I was naïve then, and in some ways I still am. But I couldn't have possibly known what lay ahead of me. Meeting my dorm-mate was intense and awkward from the start, and meeting her wild group of friends even more so. They were so different from anyone I had ever known and I was intimidated by their appearance, confused by their pure inattention to structure. I quickly became a part of their madness, indulging in it . . .

And that's when he crept into my heart.

From our first encounter, Reiji changed my life in ways that no amount of college prep courses or youth group lectures could have. Those movies I watched as a teen quickly became my life, and those ridiculous plotlines became my reality. Would I have done anything differently if I had known what was to come? I'm not sure. I would love to give a straight answer to that, but I can't. At times I am grateful, so utterly lost in the moment of passion that my judgment is clouded and all I can see is him. Other times, I think of the pain he caused me, the deep sting of loss for who I had been, the chaos of those moments when I felt as if my world had been turned upside down, and the answer isn't as clear as it once was.

All that I'm certain of is that my life and my heart will never be the same, not after Reiji crashed into them. 


	3. Chapter 1

My alarm is set to go off any minute. I've been awake for half the night, shifting back and forth, counting the lines between the ceiling tiles and repeating the course schedule in my head. Others may count sheep; I plan. My mind doesn't allow a break from planning, and today, the most important day in my entire eighteen years of life, is no exception.

"Kou!" I hear my mother's voice call from downstairs. Groaning to myself, I roll out of my tiny bed. I take my time tucking the corners of my bedsheet against the headboard, because this is the last morning that this will be a part of my regular routine. After today, this bedroom is no longer my home.

"Kou!" she calls again.

"I'm up!" I yell back. The noise of the cabinets opening and slamming closed downstairs makes it known that she is feeling just as panicked as I am. My stomach is tied in a tight knot, and as I start my shower I pray that the anxiety I feel will lessen as the day goes on. All of my life has been a series of tasks in preparation for this day, my first day of college.

I spent the last few years nervously anticipating this. I spent my weekends studying and preparing for this as my peers were hanging out, drinking, and doing whatever else it is teenagers do to get themselves in trouble. That wasn't me. I was the boy who spent his nights studying cross-legged on the living room floor with my mother while she gossiped and watched hours of QVC to find new ways to improve her appearance.

The day my acceptance letter to Washington Central University came I couldn't have been more thrilled—and my mother cried for what felt like hours. I can't deny that I was proud that all my hard work had finally paid off. I got into the only college I applied for and, because of our low income, I have enough grants to keep my student loans to a minimum. I had once, for just a moment, considered leaving Washington for college. But seeing all the color drain from my mother's face at the suggestion, and the way she paced around the living room for nearly an hour, I told her I really hadn't been serious about that.

The moment I step into the spray of shower water some of the tension leaves my strained muscles. I'm standing here, under the hot water, trying to calm my mind, but really doing the opposite, and I get so distracted that by the time I finally wash my hair and body, I barely have enough hot water to run a razor over my legs from the knees down.

As I wrap the towel around my wet body, my mother calls my name yet again. Knowing that it's her nerves getting the best of her, I give her some leeway but take the time to blow-dry my hair. I know that she's anxious for my arrival day at college, but I have had this day planned down to the hour for months. Only one of us can be a nervous wreck, and I need to do what I can to make sure it's not me by following my plan.

My hands shake as I fumble with the zipper on my pants. I don't care for the thing, but my mother insisted that I wear it. I finally win the battle with the zipper, and pull my favorite sweater from the back of my closet door. As soon as I'm dressed, I feel slightly less nervous, until I notice a small tear on the sleeve of my sweater. I toss it back onto my bed and slip my shoes onto my feet, knowing that my mother is growing more impatient with every second that passes.

My boyfriend, Ruki, will be here soon to ride up with us. He's a year younger than me but will turn eighteen soon. He's brilliant and has straight A's just like I did, and—I'm so excited—he's planning on joining me at WCU next year. I really wish he was coming now, especially considering that I won't know a single person at college, but I'm thankful that he's promised to visit as often as possible. I just need a decent roommate; that's the only thing I'm asking for and the only thing I can't control with my planning.

"KOOOOUUUU!"

"Mother, I am coming down now. Please do not scream my name again!" I yell as I walk down the stairs. Ruki is sitting at the table across from my mother, staring down at the watch on his wrist. The blue of his polo shirt matches the light greyish blue of his eyes, and his black hair is combed and lightly gelled to perfection.

"Hey, college boy." He smiles a bright, perfectly lined smile as he stands. He pulls me into a tight hug and I close my mouth when I catch his excessive cologne. Yeah, sometimes he overdoes it a bit with that.

"Hey." I give him an equally bright smile, trying to hide my nerves, and pull my blond hair into a small ponytail.

"Honey, we can wait a couple minutes while you fix your hair," my mother says quietly.

I make my way to the mirror and nod; she's right. My hair needs to be presentable for today, and of course she didn't hesitate to remind me. I should have curled it the way she likes anyhow, as a little goodbye gift.

"I'll put your bags in the car," Ruki offers, opening his palm for my mother to drop the keys into. With a quick kiss on my cheek he disappears from the room, bags in hand, and my mother follows him.

Round two of styling my hair ends with a better result than the first, and I brush a lint roller over my gray jeans one last time.

As I go outside and walk to the car packed up with my things, the butterflies in my stomach dance around, making me slightly relieved that I have a two-hour drive to make them disappear.

I have no idea what college will be like, and, unexpectedly, the question that keeps dominating my thoughts is: Will I make any friends? 


	4. Chapter 2

I wish I could say that the familiar scenery of my home state calmed me as we drove, or that a sense of adventure took hold of me with each sign that indicated we were getting closer and closer to Washington Central. But really I was mostly in a daze of planning and obsessing.

I'm not even sure what Ruki was really talking about, but I know he was trying to be reassuring and excited for me.

"Here we are!" my mother squeals when we drive through a stone gate and onto campus. It looks just as great in person as it did in the brochures and online, and I'm immediately impressed by the elegant stone buildings. Hundreds of people, parents hugging and kissing their children goodbye, clusters of freshmen dressed head to toe in WCU gear, and a few stragglers, lost and confused, fill the area. The size of the campus is intimidating, but hopefully after a few weeks I will feel at home.

My mother insists that she and Ruki accompany me to freshman orientation. My mother manages to hold a smile on her face the entire three hours and Ruki listens intently, the same way that I do.

"I would like to see your dorm room before we head out. I need to make sure everything's up to par," my mother says once orientation is over. Her eyes scan the old building, full of disapproval. She has a way of finding the worst in things. Ruki smiles, lightening the mood, and my mother perks up.

"I just can't believe you're in college! My only son, a college student, living on his own. I just can't believe it," she whines, dabbing under her eyes, though careful not to mess up her makeup. Ruki follows behind us, carrying my bags as we navigate through the corridors.

"It's B22 . . . we are in C hall," I tell them. Luckily, I see a large B painted on the wall. "Down here," I instruct when my mother begins to turn the opposite way. I'm thankful that I only brought a few clothes, a blanket, and some of my favorite books along so Ruki doesn't have too much to carry and I won't have too much to unpack.

"B22," my mother huffs. Her heels are outrageously high for the amount of walking we endure. At the end of a long hallway, I slide the key into the old wooden door, and when it creaks open my mother lets out a loud gasp. The room is small, with two single beds and two desks. After a moment, my eyes travel to the reason behind my mother's surprise: one side of the room is covered in music posters of bands that I've never heard of, the faces on them covered in piercings and their bodies with tattoos. And then there's the boy lying across one bed, and his bright red hair, eyes lined with what looks like centimeters of black liner, and arms covered in a few tattoos.

"Hey," he says, offering a smile, a smile that I find quite intriguing, much to my surprise. "I'm Ayato ." He sits up on his elbows, causing his chest to push tight against his unbuttoned shirt, and I gently kick at Ruki's shoe when his eyes focus on his chest.

"H-hey. I'm Kou," I choke, all of my manners flying out the door.

"Hey, Kou, nice to meet you. Welcome to WCU, where the dorms are tiny and the parties are huge." The crimson-haired boy grins wider. His head falls back into a fit of laughter as he takes in the three horrified expressions in front of her. My mother's jaw is wide open, practically on the carpet, and Ruki shifts uncomfortably. Ayato walks over, closing the gap between us, and wraps his thin arms around my body. I'm frozen for a moment, surprised by his affection, but I return him a kind gesture. A knock sounds at the door just as Ruki drops my bags onto the floor, and I can't help but hope that this is all some sort of joke.

"Come in!" my new roommate yells. The door opens and two more boys walk inside before she finishes her greeting.

Boys inside the male dorms on the first day? Maybe Washington Central was a bad decision. Or perhaps I could have found a way to screen my roommate first? I assume by the pained expression covering my mother's face that her thoughts have taken the same course. The poor woman looks like she might pass out any moment.

"Hey, you Ayato's roomie?" one of the boys asks. His orange hair is styled straight up and there are sections of black peeking through. His arms are scattered with tattoos and the earrings in his ear are the size of a nickel.

"Um . . . yes. My name is Kou," I manage to say.

"I'm Shin. Don't look so nervous," he says with a smile, reaching out to touch my shoulder. "You'll love it here." His expression is warm and inviting despite his harsh appearance.

"I'm ready, guys," Ayato says, grabbing a heavy black bag from his bed. My eyes shift to the tall purple-haired boy leaning against the wall. His hair is a mop of short yet thick waves on his head, pushed back off his forehead, and he has a classy look in his eyebrow and lip. My focus moves down his white T-shirt to his arms, which are covered in a few tattoos; not an inch of untouched skin is seen. Unlike Ayato's and Shin's, his appear to be all black, gray, and white. He's tall, lean, and I know that I'm staring at him in the most impolite way, but I can't seem to look away.

I expect him to introduce himself the way that his friend did, but he stays quiet, rolling his eyes in annoyance and pulling a cell phone from the pocket of his tight black jeans. He definitely isn't as friendly as Ayato or Shin. He's more appealing, though; something about him makes it hard to tear my eyes from his face. I'm vaguely aware of Ruki's eyes on me as I finally look away and pretend I was staring out of shock.

Because that's what it is, right?

"See you around, Kou," Shin says and the three of them exit the room. I let out a long breath. Calling the last few minutes uncomfortable would be an understatement.

"You're getting a new dorm!" my mother roars as soon as the door clicks shut.

"No, I can't." I sigh. "It's fine, Mother." I do my best to hide my nerves. I don't know how well this will work out, either, but the last thing I want is my overbearing mother causing a scene on my first day of college. "I'm sure she won't be around much at all anyway," I try to convince her, along with myself.

"Absolutely not. We are going to switch now." Her clean appearance clashes with the anger in her face; her long white hair is flipped to one shoulder, yet every curl is still perfectly intact. "You will not room with someone who allows men in like that—those punks, at that!"

I look into her grayish red eyes, then to Ruki. "Mother, please, let's just see how it goes. Please," I beg. I can't begin to imagine the mess it would create trying to get a last-minute dorm change. And how humiliating it would feel.

My mother looks around to the room again, taking in the décor covering Ayato's side, and huffs dramatically at the dark theme.

"Fine," she spits out, much to my surprise. "But we're going to have a little talk before I go."

TO BE CONTINUED

Note: The Diabolik Lovers characters will be OOC (Out of character), so yeah. 


	5. Chapter 3

An hour later, after listening to my mother warn me against the dangers of parties and college men—and using some language that's rather uncomfortable for Ruki and me to hear from her—she finally makes her move to leave. In her usual style, a quick hug and kiss, she exits the dorm room, informing Noah that she will wait for him in the car.

"I'll miss having you around every day," he says softly and pulls me into his arms. I inhale his cologne, the one I bought him two Christmases in a row, and sigh. Some of the overpowering scent has worn off, and I realize that I'll miss this smell and the comfort and familiarity that go along with it, no matter how many times I complained about it in the past.

"I'll miss you, too, but we can talk every day," I promise and tighten my arms around his torso and nuzzle into his neck. "I wish you were here this year." Ruki is only a few inches taller than me, but I like that he doesn't tower over me. My mother used to tease me growing up, claiming that a man grows an inch for every lie he tells. My father was a tall man, so I won't argue with her logic there.

Ruki brushes his lips across mine . . . and just then I hear a horn honking in the parking lot.

Ruki laughs and breaks away from me. "Your mom. She's persistent." He kisses me on the cheek and hurries out the door, yelling, "Call you tonight!" as he goes.

Left alone, I think about his hasty exit for just a moment and then begin to unpack my bags. Shortly, half my clothes are neatly folded and stored in one of the small dressers; the remainder are hung neatly in my closet. I cringe at the sheer amount of leather and animal print filling the other closet. Still, my curiosity does get the best of me and I find myself running my finger along a shirt made of some sort of metal, and another that's so thin it's barely there at all.

Feeling the beginnings of exhaustion from the day, I lie across the bed. An unfamiliar loneliness is creeping its way into me already, and it doesn't help that my roommate is gone, no matter how uncomfortable his friends make me. I have a feeling he will be gone a lot, or, worse, he may have company over too often. Why couldn't I get a roommate who loved to read and study? I suppose it could be a good thing, because I will have the small room to myself, but I don't have a good feeling about any of this. So far college is neither what I had dreamed of nor expected.

I remind myself that it's only been a few hours. Tomorrow will be better. It has to be.

I gather my planner and textbooks, taking the time to write down my classes for the semester and my potential meetings for the literary club I plan on joining; I'm still undecided on that, but I read a few student testimonials and want to check it out. I want to try to find a group of like-minded people I can talk to. I don't expect to make a lot of friends, just enough that I can have someone to maybe eat a meal with every once in a while. I plan for a trip off campus tomorrow to get some more things for my dorm room. I don't want to crowd my side of the room the way that Ayato has, but I would like to add a few things of my own to make me feel more at home in the unfamiliar space. The fact that I don't have a car yet will make it a little difficult. The sooner I get one, the better. I have enough money from graduation gifts and savings from my summer job at a bookstore, but I'm not sure if I want the stress of owning a car right now. The fact that I live on campus gives me full access to public transport, and I've already researched the bus lines. With thoughts of schedules, red-haired boys, and unfriendly men covered in tattoos, I drift to sleep with my planner still in hand.

THE NEXT MORNING Ayato is not in his bed. I would like to get to know him, but that might be difficult if he's never around. Maybe one of the two boys that he was with was his boyfriend? For his sake, I hope it was the orange one.

Grabbing my toiletry bag, I make my way to the shower room. I can already tell that one of my least favorite things about dorm life is going to be the shower situation—I wish each of the rooms had their own bathrooms. It's awkward, but at least they won't be coed.

Or . . . I had assumed they wouldn't be—wouldn't everyone assume that? But when I reach the door, sure enough, there are two stick figures printed on the sign, one male and one female. Ugh. I can't believe they let this kind of thing happen. I can't believe I didn't uncover it while I was researching WCU.

Spotting an open shower stall, I skirt through the half-naked boys and girls quickly, pull the curtain closed tight, and undress, then hang my clothes on the rack outside by blindly poking one hand out of the curtain. The shower takes too long to get warm and the entire time I'm in there I'm paranoid that someone will pull back the thin curtain separating my naked body from the rest of the guys and girls out there. Everyone seems to be comfortable with half-naked bodies of both genders walking around; college life is strange so far, and it's only the second day.

The shower stall is tiny, lined with a small rack to hang my clothes on while I shower and barely enough room to stretch my arms in front of me. I find my mind drifting to Ruki and my life back home. Distracted, I turn around and my elbow knocks into the rack, knocking my clothes to the wet floor. The shower pours onto them, completely soaking them.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I groan to myself, hastily cutting the water off and wrapping my towel around myself. I grab my pile of heavy, soaked clothes and rush down the hall, desperately hoping no one sees me. I reach my room and shove the key in, instantly relaxing when I push the door closed behind me.

Until I turn around to see the rude, classy, purple-haired boy sprawled across Ayato's bed. 


End file.
